Tresa Waggoner doesn’t know if she’ll ever step into a classroom again.
The former vocal/music teacher in the Bennett School District is still haunted by a devilish controversy in the Interstate 70 bedroom community that drew attention everywhere from New York Magazine to a range of arts websites and popular blogs.
When she interviewed recently for a similar position with Thimmig Elementary School near Brighton, the incident was still fresh in her memory.
“They were all very kind, and I sat there and I just couldn’t get it out of my head – the Bennett thing,” Waggoner said. “I’m going to come in and work my tail off for what? To have one parent criticize me?”
The firestorm was sparked in January when she showed about 260 Bennett Elementary first-, second- and third-graders parts of a video introducing children to “Faust,” a classic opera.
Some parents said children were traumatized by the appearances of a leering devil and other elements they considered objectionable and demanded she be fired. The complaints led to a school district investigation.
On Jan. 30, Waggoner was placed on paid administrative leave, which lasted until the school year ended in May. The Bennett school board has decided not to renew her contract, said Brent Walden, board president.
He said the district will seek a replacement. “We have not changed our commitment to the performing arts one bit,” he said.
Waggoner, 33, said it doesn’t help that she doesn’t have state certification – something she was working on in Bennett.
“So many people have been concerned and supportive, but there haven’t been job offers, necessarily, in the state of Colorado at all,” she said.
Waggoner, who lives in Fort Lupton, is looking at arts administration. She is traveling to Oklahoma today to interview for the position of director of education and outreach with the Tulsa Opera.
She has a master’s degree in music from Oklahoma City University, toured for two years with Opera Colorado’s outreach ensemble and has sung in the Chicago Lyric Opera chorus.
The Tulsa Opera approached her after she earned an award of distinction at the Opera America conference in Seattle in May. She received business cards from a dozen opera leaders offering support.
“I had people coming up to me from London: ‘I’ve been following your story since January,”‘ she said.
Such enthusiastic response has given her reason for optimism.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been very rough,” she said. “But I have many things to be thankful for.”
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
